Tablet Shipments Jumped 6% in Q3, Says Strategy Analytics Preliminary Report

Global tablet shipments jumped 6 percent in Q3 to 55.2 million units, Strategy Analytics on Thursday said its preliminary findings show. "Although they are still some distance behind market leaders Apple and Samsung, both Lenovo and Asus are demonstrating that innovative form factors provide sufficient product differentiation to drive shipments," the company said. In Q3, Android further consolidated its global market share in tablets, reaching an all-time high of 72 percent share, it said. Windows also reached its highest level of market share at 6 percent "as more models became available from traditional PC vendors and with a full quarter of Microsoft Surface Pro 3 availability," it said. Apple shipped 12.3 million iPads in Q3, a 13 percent decline from Q3 a year earlier and a 7 percent decline from Q2, it said. Few consumers in the developed world are "feeling the need to upgrade" to the latest iPads, it said. The newly announced iPad Air 2 and Mini 3, "plus the retention of older models at lower price points, will stimulate sales in the coming quarters by providing essentially a wider range of iPad availability in terms of price and specifications," it said. Strategy Analytics thinks iPad growth rates "will remain muted until new form factors are introduced," it said. "We believe Apple will win back meaningful high-end market share during the final months of the calendar year."